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Installing Windwoes ME

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by etoile

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I have recently tried to install Windows Me (98 Stepup) but had a few problems. Each time the installation program asked me to reboot, when yes was selected it locked up, resulting in having to hit the reset button and wait for the usual scandisk upon reboot. Once the install was complete, all seemed well, but in dialing up my ISP my modem would connect and the timer start counting, but IE would not display any sites, reporting connection failures. Tried with and without proxy settings on.Also tried 2 other ISP accounts. Made 3 attempts to install. 1. Upgraded existing Win98 2nd Ed build. 2. Formatted, then clean install of win98 2nd Ed. Followed by Win Me upgrade. 3. Formatted, then clean install of Win Me verifying Win98 ownership. All had the same problems.

My system: Asus CUSL2 MB, PIII 733, 128 Meg 133 SDRAM, Asus AGP-7100, SB Live! Value, 20 Gig Seagate ATA66 HDD, Aopen 48x CDRom, Ricoh MP7060A CD-R/W, Pinnacle DC10+, Atech ATS255 Modem (Rockwell Chipset)

Using latest drivers for all hardware and latest MB BIOS.

Other info ? in Win98 auto redial if engaged is selected, but modem will not disconnect and redial if engaged.

Thanks in advance ...

8 replies

by wstoffel2

There are a couple of things I would try before resorting to, god forbid, MS Help on Technet, the modem manufacturer's help line, or throwing the modem out and replacing it with one I'm familiar with.

First, verify that the dial-up dialog indicates a connection has been established. If it does, try pinging an internet address you know is up from the DOS prompt. For example, [ping 124.008.21.202] If you get no reply, it may be a hardware problem. The modem may not be passing the information.

If no connection is established, try deleting the dialup for your ISP and set it up from scratch. Check the settings, then try again. Your ISP can help you verify your settings.

You will also want to check your irq settings to see if another device is conflicting with the modem. If so, you will want to manually reset the irq to one which is not being used. Windows usually detects and avoids irq conflicts, but not always.

If you get an answer to your ping, it may be the browserthat's at fault. In Internet Explorer, check the Tools:Internet Options...
Click the Connections tab. If "Always dial my default connection" is checked MSIE may be trying to dial out. In this case, the common message you'd be getting is something like "The modem is in use by another program." or "The modem is in use. Unable to connect." Correct this by checking "Never dial a connection." This should stop its attempts to dial out.

If these suggestions don't help, you may need more advanced help, but this is where I would start.

I would definitely verify the hardware first. It's easier to diagnose than software failure.

PS. Pray for simple!

by wstoffel2

If you decide to do another reinstall of the operating system, try removing the modem first. This may help with the installation.

You should also consider testing the RAM. Sometimes a bad chip will often create similar problems even though it passes the startup memory test.

by etoile

THanks for all your ideas. I tried them all: w/o modem, new modem, new RAM... to no avail.
Have decided to stick with what works - Win 98 2nd Ed. I suppose they do say "don't try to fix what ain't broke" !

by arrichter

Some ISP's have compatabil8ty issues with Windows ME's WDM drivers. Microsoft has a fix for that on web site. Just go to 'http://www.microsoft.com/windowsme/support/default.asp' and click on where it says "Attention AOL Users" then download the file'272016usam.exe' then just double-click on the file from 'My Computer' and the setup will install the fix.

Hope this helps!

by etoile

Thanks for your answer, but I don't think ISP incompatability is the problem; I have tried with 3 different ISP accounts, including one of Australia's biggest, Telstra Bigpond. No luck.

by etoile

I have been using Win98 for some time with a number of different ISP accounts - all correct. In Me, I get the dial tone, it dials up, is answered and connects, but nothing is displayed. Connection time counter commences. Maybe I should just stick with Win98 - Don't try to fix what ain't broke!

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